1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to devices for laparoscopic surgical procedures. More particularly, the invention relates to devices enhancing hand assisted laparoscopic procedures performed in conjunction with a laparoscopic seal assembly.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a minimally invasive, laparoscopic surgical procedure, a surgeon may place a number of small ports into the abdomen to gain access into the abdominal cavity of the patient. A surgeon may use, for example, a port for insufflating the abdominal cavity to create space, a port for introducing a laparoscope for viewing, and a number of other ports for introducing surgical instruments for operating on tissue. The benefits of minimally invasive procedures compared to open surgery procedures for treating certain types of wounds and diseases are now well known to include faster recovery time and less pain for the patient, better outcomes and lower overall costs.
In traditional, open surgery, surgeons may use their hands, together with the surgical instruments to manipulate tissues, to perform particular steps of the procedure and to obtain tactile feedback through their fingertips to verify the nature of particular tissues. Also in open surgery, the size and shape of the instrument that a surgeon may place into the abdominal cavity, as well as the size and shape of tissues that a surgeon may remove, obviously is not nearly as limited as in laparoscopic surgery.
Hand assisted, laparoscopic surgery (HALS) combines some of the benefits of both the open and the laparoscopic methods. In a hand assisted laparoscopic surgical procedure, a surgeon still places small ports into the abdomen to insufflate, to view and to introduce instruments into the abdominal cavity. Additionally, in a HALS procedure, a surgeon also creates an incision into the abdominal wall large enough to accommodate the surgeon's hand. The incision may be retracted and draped to provide a suitably sized and protected opening. A surgeon may also place a laparoscopic access device, also referred to as a laparoscopic seal assembly (or hand access seal assembly, hand access device, HALS seal assembly or HALS access device), into the incision to maintain insufflation in the abdominal cavity while the surgeon's hand is either inserted into the cavity through the laparoscopic seal assembly or removed from the cavity. The advent of HALS and the laparoscopic seal assembly creates numerous opportunities for creating and improving surgical devices and methods.